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 Weekly E-News October 11, 2013
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Dear youth and parents,
UCC's annual stewardship campaign is underway, and an article below provides all the information you need to make your pledge to support our church in 2014. For parents, this is an excellent opportunity to talk as a family about giving. According to a recent study, children and youth ages 8-19 whose parents talk with them about giving are 20% more likely to give to charity than kids whose parents do not. Additionally, the more open parents are with their children about how giving to church and other charities fits into their family budget, the more likely their kids are to make similar plans. Click here for a great (and short!) article by Kara Powell from the Fuller Youth Institute about the study and how it has influenced her family.
Read on for more information about the next TCU football parking fundraiser, Chi Rho Fall Retreat registration, CYF Ski Retreat sign-ups, and more.
Grace and Peace,
Russ |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Click on  next to any headline to vist the related Facebook event. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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TCU football parking fundraiser tomorrow vs. Kansas
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Football season is here again, and youth and parents have the opportunity to raise money by parking cars in the church lots for TCU football games. Part of the money raised goes into youth and youth handbell choir reserve funds, and part goes into the individual accounts of those who work each game to use for camps, retreats, trips, and other church events. This year, each hour is worth $50 per family member who works.
The next TCU home game is this Saturday, October 12 against Kansas with an 11 a.m. kickoff. We will need volunteers in 1-2 hour shifts to control access to our season parking lots and direct cars/take money for the daily parking lots. Specifically, we will need about 10 people there at 7 a.m., another 8-10 between 8 and 9 a.m., and 3-4 people (at least 2 adults) who will get there at 9:30 or 10 and commit to stay until 30 minutes after kickoff. If you have additional questions about this fundraiser, please email Mike Morton at m_morton@sbcglobal.net.
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Last call to register for Chi Rho Retreat at Disciples Crossing
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Our youth have the opportunity to join others from Disciple churches around the area for two upcoming fall retreats at Disciples Crossing, our church camp in Athens. The Chi Rho Fall Retreat for grades 6-8 will be November 1-3, and the CYF Fall Retreat for grades 9-12 is November 22-24. These annual retreats offer youth the opportunity to grow closer to God and one another through worship, recreation, prayer, small groups, and interest groups that include options like sports, dance, art, service, photography, and more.
Participants will meet at UCC at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday each retreat begins to share a charter bus to camp, and will return around 12:30 p.m. the following Sunday. The cost for each retreat is $90 and full or half scholarships are available upon request. Registration forms were due to the Youth Office by October 6 for Chi Rho, but we are still able to accept forms this week. Forms for CYF are due by October 27. You can download a form by clicking here .
Parents: We will need adult chaperones to attend these retreats as well. If you're interested in serving as an adult sponsor, contact Alison Nicoll at alison.nicoll@uccftw.com for the Chi Rho Retreat or Michael Yandell at michael.yandell@uccftw.com for the CYF Retreat .
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Sign up for the CYF Ski Retreat to Crested Butte, Colorado
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High school youth have the opportunity to explore the beauty of God's creation together on the CYF Ski Retreat to Crested Butte, Colorado. The trip will take place December 27-31, and includes transportation by charter bus, hotel lodging in nearby Gunnison, and three days of skiing, snowboarding, or sipping hot cocoa and enjoying the view. Cost is $650 for skiers/snowboarders and $400 for non-skiers. Click here to download a flyer that covers most of the trip details, and secure your spot on the trip by submitting a $100 deposit to Sharyn Peterson. (If you would prefer to use money from your TCU parking fundraising account, e-mail Sharyn at sharyn@uccftw.com to make those arrangements.)
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New calendar to invite the UCC Youth staff to your events
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Do you have a soccer game coming up? A school play? A band concert? A magic show? Let us know! The youth ministers love to come to these events when our schedules allow, and so do many of our youth ministry volunteers. If you have an event coming up and would like to invite youth staff and volunteers to attend, use the calendar on the white board outside Alison and Michael's office (Room 301 on the 3rd floor) to let us know! Just put your name, the event, time, and location, and one of us will follow up if we're able to make it.
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Easy volunteer opportunity: Sunday morning bagel pick-up
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From Courtney Perry, Sunday Morning Snackage Coordinator:
 Hello all! We are in need of volunteers for Sunday morning snack pickups for our middle and high school youth. Thank you to those that have graciously volunteered for September, October, November, and December. This easy job, not requiring large amounts of time, entails picking up pre-ordered snacks from either Circle Donuts or Einstein's Bagels and dropping them off in the youth gathering room by 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings for one month. We currently need volunteers for each month from January through August. If you have questions or would like to sign up, please e-mail me at sundaysnackvolunteers@yahoo.com. Thank you!
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Make your 2014 stewardship pledge online today
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UCC's stewardship campaign for 2014 is underway, and this year's theme is "Gratefully Received, Generously Given." Please prayerfully consider your pledge commitment and respond by turning in your pledge card or pledge online here by October 31.
Youth: Do you have an allowance? A part-time job? Income from babysitting or mowing lawns? Consider making a pledge to support your church in 2014! Just click here and take a couple of minutes to make your own stewardship pledge.
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Youth events and key dates on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 12 - Football parking fundraiser - TCU vs. Kansas
October 26-27 - 6th grade lock-in
October 27 - Trunk-or Treat Event - Youth volunteers needed
November 1-3 - Chi Rho Fall Retreat at Disciples Crossing
November 10 - Youth Sunday at The Search
November 22-24 - CYF Fall Retreat at Disciples Crossing
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| Staff Links
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Russ Boyd, Associate Minister for Youth - E-mail Russ
Alison Nicoll, Assistant Minister for Middle School - E-mail Alison
Michael Yandell, Assistant Minister for High School - E-mail Michael
Sharyn Peterson, Ministry Assistant - E-mail Sharyn
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